Summary of Blogs

What I have learned this semester:

I learned how to make blogs, write posts, connect with people, and follow fellow students and teachers. My group and I gave Google Docs presentation orally in class. I know how to put together a slide show and present the material to the class.
I learned how to use Google Docs and Forms. I love this! It is not as good as word, but it is free. It is saved online so you can pull up your presentation from any location! I have learned quite a bit from the posts that I have read. I would say I have learned the most this semester from the posts that I have read. I loved hearing what other educated people have to say about the information I am interested in. I used this this semester to get in touch with people who are interested in physical education, just like me. I like Twitter! It is a good way for communication among people. Watching these little kid's videos and reading their blogs made me really want to do that in my class when I am a teacher! I use iTunes on a daily bases. For long car rides, iTunesU is a great learning tool! Keeps your mind active and you get to learn from different professors around the world! I created a professional blog to market myself and to display the values that I enforce as a teacher. I thought this assignment was very informative. It teaches other ways to make a resume other than using a piece of paper. The best thing is it stays on the web, so you can update it anytime you want! I always use data bases for sources when writing papers. A great resource! Skype is a free and easy way to stay connected with people from all over the world. ACCESS & ALEX are definitely resources I am going to use when I become a teacher. There are over 2000 lesson plan ideas on there!! I like Foliotec because it stores all the work that I have done and organizes it for when I am getting certified as a teacher. I came into this class very technological illiterate! But now, with the patience from Mr. Wakeman, I am very literate! I believe the future schools will all have SmartBoards and webcams and blogs. The students will develop PLN's and stay connected with the world around them. I guess if I had to rate myself in walking on the trail on knowledge, I would say that I am on a never ending trail. Life is full of learning experiences that help to turn you into the person you are!

I would have loved to have learn how to make a website! I am going to use most of the stuff I have used in this class, but I think I will stop writing blogs until I start teaching. This class excited me. I liked learning creative things that I can do in my future classroom and I especially liked the lecture videos that we had to blog about. They really made me think. This leads into the next question about "intellectually challenging" material in this course. I think the hardest part of this course was the reflecting in blogs part. I was bored in class because I can only sit at a computer for so long! It gets tiring after a while. I really learned a lot from this class! My favorite part of this course was vod casting!!!!!!!! I would say that I am Good technologically literate, but there of course is room for improvement. I am going to stay up-to-date with new technology and in the future, use it in my classroom!

Nov. 22 Post

7 Stupid Mistakes
7 Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology
New Classroom Rules by Education Innovation

In reading the three lists of information I found all the topics to be interesting. In the 7 Stupid Mistakes list I thought that not backing up your data was important and not supervising computer using students. I know the feeling first hand of not backing up your data. I am not proud to say that it has happened to me more than once. What is the most aggervating is when you are almost done with your paper and then you lose it! It is a very stupid, but easy mistake to make when you get caught up in doing an assignment. As a teacher you cannot turn children loose and not supervise what that are doing on the computer. Students will test you, and if there is a way for them to look at something they are not suppose to, they will find it.

In the 7 Brillant Things Teachers Do With Technology I felt that empowering kids with technology and being able to accept the role of a co-learner was important. Allowing students to become familiar with technology will help them throughout life. Technology is a piece of learning that is here to stay. The more the student uses technology, the better he or she will get. As a teacher I believe it is important to be a lifelong learner. There is always something new in the world to learn, so have an open mind. Teachers should allow the students to share what they know, because they can teach the teacher as well.

The List of New Classroom Rules was very different from what the rules were when I was in school. The first one caught my eye, "Come to class everyday, unless you would rather go online." If these rules fell into effect students would not have to leave there house. I don't know if that would be a good thing or a bad thing. If the student stayed motivated and did their work it would be fine. However, if the student has to have someone telling him or her what to do the whole time, I don't believe it would work too well. I felt that do not cheat, but remix, re-purpose, and sample other peoples' work and ideas and give them credit was important. You can learn so much from viewing others' blogs and posts. Using their ideas you can make an assingment into your own.

At The Teachers Desk

At The Teachers Desk is a blog space that can be helpful to teachers. It is a site that teachers blog and leave comments. I read several posts that can be helpful to a teacher.

The first post was how to get and keep more visitors on your site. It is very true that the longer you post the more views you are going to get. When you keep your blog address the same people who are familiar with you know how to find you. Posting regularly often will add more interest to viewers. Viewers do not want to search for your blog and it be the same post every time. So keeping it current will aid in attracting more viewers. When you make the title of your post what people search for in google you are more likely to receive views. When the search engine pulls it up of course people are going to click on it. Also, leaving comments on other people's blogs will get you more viewers. When people read your comments they are going to be more likely to view your blog and check it out.

After reading through other posts I realized that the site was about teachers communicating with teachers. Sharing ideas and interests, asking for suggestions, and showing examples on how technology can be helpful. Teachers need to be social networking experts. Having a social network is like having help on call. When a question is typed in people respond as soon as possible. Teachers need to be experts in creating paths from learners to knowledge. The ability to make connections with people through blogging, commenting on blogs, and twitter.

In today's society the digital portfolio kids are creating on the internet is a negative one. Children are posting the bad things that happen to them from day to day. This relays a message that young people are violent, aggressive, and dangerous. It is creating a negative stereotype that kids do not need to be linked to. For example, on facebook the digital trails students create come back to haunt them. They post comments such as getting drunk and what they got into last night. Students need to be able to create personal spaces that show their learning and themselves. A space that can be found by future employers and colleges or universities.

Post were also available that offered encouragement in using webcam. It pretty much stated if the students are asked to do it, then the teachers need to be able to as well. Teachers need to be able to get over the dislikes, fears, and phobias of being in front of the camera. The last post that I got into was if the students should be learning technology in the way that they are. Learning about blogs, to create media, and contacting people around the world is important in society. Technology plays a big role in the future. However, I do not think technology should replace books and traditional learning all together.

Toward a New Future of Whatever-Michael Wesch

Michael Wesch's video discussed the changes in conversation over the years. He used the word "whatever" to show how it has took different meanings from generation to generation. Societies conversations are picked up from what is heard on television and in the media. It is the conversations on television that help create our culture. The video focused on where the culture was going in this new generation. People today are known to have short attentions spans, they are materialistic, and they are not easily impressed. I agree with Mr. Wesch's definition of society today. The world today is always on the go moving at a fast pace. It seems to me that todays world is so focused on the dollar that the simple things are forgotten. The fact that it takes more to impress the average person is because of everything people are exposed to. In the old days people did not have internet where they could google anything they wanted. In the world today crime and murder are subjects that are always being talked about on the news. Society has molded into these definitions because of the way the world has changed over the years.

We come to know ourselves through the relations of others. The new media available creates different ways of knowing ourselves. For example, now we have youtube and webcams to view other people around the world. Through webcam you can even hold coversations while looking at them from your computer. You are able to watch other people without starring at them. Humanity is being created without fear or anxiety.

In my life I do recognize how change has taken place in my life from the way I communicate with others. I realize that when I am around a group of people I tend to pick up on their "sayings". For example, "I know right" is a common thing that a coworker says at work and I find myself using it in my conversations. The people you are around the most really do make an impact on you. I do not feel like I relate to all of the definitons of people today. I do feel like I move at a fast pace, but my family always makes time for one another. I do not care about material things. Life is too short to go around thinking about what you don't have. I thank God everyday for what he has blessed me with. I realize how truly blessed I am to have a healthy family. I do not feel like it takes much to impress me. I get excited over the little things in life. I hope as teacher that I can bring the joy that I experience from life into the classroom.

Why is it important for students to post blogs?

It is important for students to post their work to blogger for many reasons. Blogging is a growing technology that is becoming more and more popular. One reason it is important is the teacher can view the work as well as other students. People around the world have access to the blog. For example, Landslide was posted by a student in PS22's Chorus class. When Stevie Nicks heard the rendition of her song she was blown away. She invited the class to sing the song at Madison Square Garden for the Fleetwood Mac show. If the student had never posted the blog the class would have never experienced that once in a lifetime chance. Another example of the importance of posting is Dear Kaia. If Kaia's dad did not post the story online than students from around the world would not be writing on the importance of experiencing nature.



The importance of posting blogs is also a way to save paper. It cuts down on a lot of paper when the whole class is done on the internet. I think in the future more classes will go to using blogs to turn in assignments.



Another reason blogging is important is that you can add pictures and links to enhance the blog. It gives the viewer a referance as to what you are talking about.



Blogs are a useful tool in learning. Blogs open a wide learning network that can be established through viewing others blogs. Teachers who use blogs do not have to worry about keeping up with paperwork. They just turn on their internet and can pull the blogs right up. I believe the importance of using blogs will become more common in the future.

ACCESS

Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide (ACCESS) was created by Governor Bob Riley and his task force on distance learning. The goal is to promote equal educational opportunities for all students. In order to meet the goal, classroom courses and teachers are provided through technology. Equal access will be provided through high quality instruction to improve student achievement through distance learning. It is really awesome because students can receive the highest quality education, no matter what school the student attends. The classes are taken online during regular school hours. The student is able to work at their own pace and has the opportunity to repeat a lesson if they are struggling. The student can take higher level classes that are not offered at all schools. It really gives the students who do not have the opportunity to take AP classes the equal chance at an education they deserve.

I think that ACCESS is a giant step to an equal education for every student. Technology is increasing so much it does not matter if you attend a lower class school. Every student is offered the same opportunity to take classes that interest them. I know this tool will be very useful in the classroom. It will be helpful to the student as well as the teacher. Providing an equal educational experience for every student will open doors for students in urban areas who do not experience AP classes in their school. I know ACCESS will be a huge site in the schools in the future.